Officer Tommy Norman: Unique Community Policing

This was a website created so more folks could learn about the unique Community Policing in the neighborhoods of North Little Rock by dedicated Officer Tommy Norman.
Content is from the site's 2016 archived pages and other outside sources including Youtube videos and news reports about this officer.

The new owner of the domain registration, OfficerTommyNorman.com, wanted to keep this site live in order that the exception work of Officer Tommy Norman remains visible on the web.

Social media sensation Officer Tommy Norman came to the U of A to discuss his approach to community policing and what it means to be an agent of change.

An aside: My wife alerted me to a new story surrounding Officer Tommy Norman one afternoon while I was online doing a search for Italian modern dining furniture displays. We had just finished a gut renovation on our newly bought condo in New York and had decided to buy new livingroom and dining room furniture. We both like cutting edge design whether it is architectural, fashion, furniture, or art. I had volunteered looking into Italian designed furniture which is well known for some striking modern looks. I found a great online site that afternoon for a furniture store in Philadelphia that is an authorized dealer of the most respected Italian furniture designers and manufacturers in the market today. I was familiar with some of the manufacture's names: Bonaldo, Cattelan Italia, Fiam Italia, Foscarini, Gamma Arredamenti, Pianca, Presotto Italia, Tonelli and Tonin Casa the store, room service 360, carried. The store proclaimed that they offered the most complete, most comprehensive, and most exclusive collections of contemporary furniture available. I was going to be in Philly the next week so I decided I would drop into their showroom to take a look around. I felt pretty good about my search results, so I then directed my attention to the story my wife wanted me to read about Officer Tommy Norman. P.S. My wife is a big instagram fan of the officer. Well apparently "Everyone's Favorite Police Officer, Tommy Norman, Popped The Question To His Longtime Girlfriend." I have to admit, it is rather nice reading positive stories about cops. I am sure there are many more stories out there. Officer Tommy Norman, however, had discovered the power of social media and made good use of it. My wife was upset when he posted a video about a year ago saying that he could longer post such videos while on-duty. However that wasn't entirely accurate. The North Little Rock Police Department said they did not tell Norman that he couldn't post on social media. The department said they made Norman aware of a policy and any posts had to be approved through the Media Relations Unit. "The department greatly supports the work that Officer Norman has done and will continue to do in our community," the police department said in a statement. And sure enough, Officer Tommy Norman a year later is continuing to post pictures on Instagram with members of the community. After the engagement, Norman posted the following message on his Instagram page -- which is followed by more than one million people across the country, my wife included. "On behalf of our union, we would like to thank each of you near & far who support our love for each other! Last night was magical as I put a ring on it, and to share it with the world was an honor! I love @rosalynd_nicole so much! She makes me extremely happy! I'm thankful for what we share! So many memories! I'm excited for what the future holds! I thank God for sending me an angel!..." A big congrats to Officer Norman and his bride-to-be!

A Little Background Circa 2016

THE GAME AND HIS SON JUST RAISED $65K FOR A “GOOD COP” IN ARKANSAS
Tommy Norman, community pillar, receives an unexpected bonus
BY EVAN BLEIER Insidehook.com

Finding a silver lining to the recent acts of killing in Minnesota, Louisiana and Texas is nearly impossible.

And while it is important not to let isolated stories of compassion drown out the very real need for social change those acts have laid bare, it is equally important to acknowledge individuals who use tragedy as a foundation for a more open dialogue about inequality in America.

Rapper The Game and his oldest son, 13-year-old Harlem Caron Taylor, are two such individuals.

After talking with his father about what’s happened in the past few weeks involving officers and the communities they police, Harlem decided he wanted to find a “good cop” and do something nice for him.

The teen did some digging and discovered North Little Rock PD's Tommy Norman, a cop with a reputation for helping financially struggling students, dancing in the streets with kids and generally being an all-around standup guy.

Harlem set up a GoFundMe page for Officer Norman using the #AGoodSonForAGoodCop hashtag and, after his dad also began promoting it, the fundraising campaign took off.

The father-son effort has already raised nearly $65,000 for Norman to use to buy items like snacks, drinks and toys to keep in his trunk and distribute to community members.

So who exactly is Officer Norman and who will the campaign be helping?

Every police interaction does not have to be a negative one and Officer Norman is changing that one person at a time. He has changed the way he approaches the community he patrols and is committed to building strong relationships with the residents.

#BRO COPSby Brandon Wenerd http://brobible.com/

Rapper The Game Has Raised Over $50,000 For ‘Good Cop’ Officer Norman, The Most Inspiring Cop On Instagram
Last week was a painful week for the law enforcement community in America. Even after a week of anger and hurt, there are still wonderful stories of good.

One such story comes from The Game, who joined Snoop Dogg for a peaceful protest in Los Angeles last week. Over the weekend, The Game discovered North Little Rock’s Officer Tommy Norman. Officer Norman is dedicated to community policing, raising a massive following on Instagram by showing off his intimate relationship with the North Little Rock community. The Game wanted to make his presence known to his Instagram followers, so he posted this over the weekend:
The Game’s son, Harlem, was instantly drawn to Officer Norman’s work. So he asked to set up a GoFund me for Norman, donating the first $1,000 himself. Here’s how The Game announced it on Instagram:

Good morning world…… So as I told you yesterday, I had conversations with my oldest son @hvrlemtaylor about good cops & bad ones & he did his research & found officer @tnorman23’s page & i was touched by how active he is in the black community where he polices. My son said, how does he help all of these kids & stuff, is he rich ??? I said I don’t know if he’s rich but sometimes it doesn’t take much to help those in need son…… Being that my son is on vacation with his mother visiting relatives in Atlanta, Arkansas & Louisiana he wanted to do something for officer @tnorman23 in Little Rock so he delevoped a #GoFundMe to try & raise $10,000 so that officer @tnorman23 can stuff his trunk with toys, goodies, food & other things to help him continue contributing to the kids & people in Little Rock Arkansas….. (& BEFORE SOMEONE NEGATIVE PUTS IT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW, YES I COULD’VE GIVEN THE 10K MYSELF BUT THAT WOULDVE STOLEN THE JOY OUT OF MY SONS IDEA & HIS COMMITMENT & DEDICATION FOR SOMETHING & SOMEONE HE FELT TOUCHED BY). But as I type, I AM GOING TO DONATE THE 1st $1,000 !!!!!!!! Not only am I proud of my son for taking initiative, I’m thankful that I’ve raised him with such a pure heart regardless of the negativities he’s seen me over come……

In just a day, the GoFundMe is a huge success, raising over $50,000, which will be used “to purchase and deliver items such as snacks, drinks, and toys for him to keep in his trunk, stocked for the kids and members of the community.”

Bro moves around from The Game, his son Harlem, and Officer Norman.

His work is nothing short of inspiring. We should all be a little bit more like Officer Norman — That’s how you make real change in the world.

For the News requesting to set up a interview with Officer Norman please contact Sgt. Brian Dedrick at Brian.Dedrick@nlrpolice.org

For donations please send gifts to: Officer Tommy Norman, 2525 Main Street, NLR, AR, 72114. Please include instructions on who is suppose to receive what

Officer Tommy Norman

My Community

I serve a fantastic community in North Little Rock Arkansas with residents who will win your heart.

My mission

"If you can just take two minutes out of the day to go out and make a difference, whether checking on your neighbor if they're elderly, cutting someone's grass, or hold the door for someone. It's really just act of kindness and I think acts of kindness coming from a police officer means that much more to people because that's not something you're used to seeing." - Officer Tommy Norman

Officer Tommy Norman isn't your typical police officer.

HISTORY

Born to parents Modena and Dean Norman, Norman Graduated from Ole Main High School in 1990. Between 1991 and 1998, he worked many jobs in the nursing & mental health field. He worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Riley's Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home. Norman was also a mental health worker at Pinnacle Pointe Hospital (courtesy of interview with Mr. Norman).

Norman is known for building relationships within the communities he works in as it’s called positive community policing. For years Norman has amassed a positive reputation for police officers in North Little Rock, central Arkansas and beyond. Norman’s unorthodox approach to policing includes thousands of video posts, pictures and daily interactive engagement at the Boys & Girls Clubs and the Police Athletic League with those that he protects and serves. He uses social media [Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram] and a variety of ways to inspire the world, a world where too often police are seen in a negative light with brutality, abuse of force and poor relationships with citizens. He is credited for doing things like presenting 50 NLRSD students with backpacks and $50 gift cards from Shoe Carnival in August to purchase shoes, starting the “Shop with a Cop” program to help financially struggling students or just dancing with the children

Update 2017

Officer Tommy Norman Claims He's No Longer Allowed to Post on Social Media While On-Duty

Michael Buckner , KTHV 11:25 AM. CDT June 29, 2017 thv11.com
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - North Little Rock police officer Tommy Norman, who is known for the amazing interactions with the community he polices, posted a video on Wednesday saying that he can longer post such videos while on-duty.

In a video, Norman said he was informed by superiors within the police department that he can not post photos or videos on his social media pages while wearing his badge.

"There's a policy in effect at the police department that prohibits you from posting on-duty that is now going to be enforced," he said.

Norman said he has to respect the decision despite being unhappy with it.

Recently, Norman received an outpouring of support after helping a pregnant homeless woman and her baby while on-duty. He said he had to help the domestic abuse survivor and was amazed by the response of people willing to "make a difference to change this family's life."

"Don't give up on me, I was born to do this," Norman said, before ending the video.

In response, the North Little Rock Police Department said they did not tell Norman that he couldn't post on social media. The department said they made Norman aware of a policy and any posts had to be approved through the Media Relations Unit.

"The department greatly supports the work that Officer Norman has done and will continue to do in our community," the police department said in a statement.